Buffalo Bisons baseball – Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays

G-Braves get win in opener

The Gwinnett Braves handed the Bisons their third straight loss when the Herd was defeated 7-2 tonight at Coolray Field.

The Braves scored early and often and forced the Bisons to play catch-up for the remainder of the game. The Herd could not match the offense put up by the Braves and were able to only muster two runs in the losing effort.

The home squad got to starting pitcher Dylan Owen in the first inning when they pounced on the right hander for two early runs. The Braves then came back strong in the second inning, scoring four runs and sending eight batters to the plate. The Braves also collected six hits during the inning.

Owen was then removed from the game during the top of the sixth when he was next in the lineup with men on the corners and two outs. In an attempt to chip away at the lead, Andy Green was sent to the plate to pinch hit for Owen. Unfortunately Green was unable to produce any runs as he failed to check his swing to strikeout for the third out.

At the time when Owen was removed from the game he had retired ten consecutive batters and had sat down the side in order in three consecutive innings. After his shaky first two innings Owen had settled down and was able to go on his streak of consecutive batters retired by not allowing a hit from the third to fifth inning. For the day the starter went five innings while tying his season high for earned runs allowed with six after throwing only 73 pitches.

The Bisons saw the Braves do the majority of their damage at the plate with the one through four hitters. The Braves first four in the lineup went a combined 8-15 on the night with four RBI.

The lack of offense by the Herd was primarily due to the start from Braves pitcher Tim Gustafson. The Braves starter held the Bisons bats in check during his five innings of work. Gustafson limited the Bisons to only five hits in six innings of work and gave up only one run.

The Herd finally threatened the Braves in the ninth inning. Buffalo was able to load the bases but it was too little too late. The Herd was only able to get one run from the threat when first baseman Mike Jacobs singled to left to score left fielder Jonathan Malo.

With the loss the Herd’s record now stands at 36-35 while being 14-19 away from Coca-Cola Field. The win for the Braves improves their record to 33-38.

BISONS NOTES: With a loss tomorrow the Bisons record would be .500 for the first time since they were 3-3 on April 13. Shortstop Justin Turner and first baseman Mike Jacobs were the only Bisons with a multi-hit game by going 3-4 and 2-4 on the day respectively. The Bisons will continue their series with the Braves tomorrow when left hander Pat Misch (5-3, 3.50 ERA) takes on Jo-Jo Reyes (1-4, 4.23 ERA).

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